Women are underrepresented in our correctional system even though they comprise a very small percentage in our correctional system. In the last decade we have seen a higher number of women being sentenced to prison. Women commit crime and are incarcerated under different circumstances and reasons than men. Their criminal behavior can be attributed to drug abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse and poverty. Women who are admitted into prison facilities are disadvantaged from the very beginning; prisons are calculated and planned for our male counterparts because in history men have made up the proportion of our high prison populace. It is hard to meet the needs of women prisoners when the facilities are not custom-made for them. Prisons for women should be geared with programming to help these women deal with obstacles they are facing in their daily lives. But because there are fewer women in prison, the health services that are given to them are typically nominal as compared to males. One of the biggest problems for women in prison is that they are disproportionately affected by human immunodeficiency virus commonly known as HIV. There is a tangible need to address the problem with HIV positive incarcerated women. (Reyes, 2001)
Female prisoners make up about five percent of our overall prison population but as time has passed their numbers have increased at a rapid pace. In countries where substance abuse is high and drug laws have become harsher, we can see a correlation between women and imprisonment. About one in a half million will be incarcerated each year worldwide. Our prison system is already overburdened; we are admitting women to overcrowded and understaffed prisons where they are subjected to minimal care facilities and services. In prison many times basic women needs are not met. (UNAIDS, n.d.) Women who are incarcerated are in fact fifteen times more